Lowden or Martin, an an heirloom instrument?

[drplayer]

I guess my question is, what makes anything an heirloom? By definition it's, "a family possession handed down from generation to generation", so it has really nothing to do with value at all. That said, a $6K Martin or Lowden will be an exquisite guitar, so I say buy the one you love and when it gets passed down, its value will be in that it was Dad's favorite guitar, not so much in what the re-sale value is. Besides, if it truly becomes an heirloom and gets passed down from generation to generation, it'll never be sold anyway so who cares what it appraises at? Just my 2-cents...

[JayBee1404]

I’m with Silly Moustache and others- buy the one that you love, and it will be cherished as ‘Dad’s favourite guitar’. And forget about resale values altogether - memories of someone loved and missed totally transcend monetary values.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

[John K]

Martins and Lowdens are apples and oranges. Buy what you like best. I have owned both ( only one of each, so a very small sample). Me, for that kind of money, would buy an Authentic or opted for a custom build from a small shop luthier.

[kiva238]

Buy a nice Brazilian RW Martin. Something from the 1960's should fit the budget. A 000-28 comes to mind

If set up and maintained properly,it will be a joy to play. If you ever decide to sell it, it's unlikely you'll be badly hurt and very likely find it has increased in value.

That sounds like a win-win to me. . . .

[Vyse Hazuky]

Factory made models don't usually keep their value well. Lowden is more of a workshop setting but unless it was handmade by George himself, don't count on price going up, because there are hundreds of them available. A "name" Luthier-made or a vintage instrument from the golden age will be your best bet. That being said I agree that it has nothing to do with heirloom qualities.

Strangely enough, I've recently came into contact with 2 heirloom guitar stories. The first one I found out my former landlady still kept her late husband's guitar, a Japanese factory guitar which he had bought in Mação where they lived for a long time, on a stand in her small apartment, as he had begun to learn it after retirement and died soon after. The guitar is relatively inexpensive but is a memento to her and their son of the husband/father's ambitions and interest in what should have been his golden years.
Then yesterday an older colleague showed me a similarly inexpensive factory guitar made and brought from Brazil which belonged to his grandfather which gifted it to him. He is an avid jazz lover but a poor musician, yet that guitar means the world to him.

My late father's guitar I can also admit was a pretty crappy hohner, which is now very scuffed, bent neck, etc(mainly as I learned guitar on it).. Will I ever get rid of it? Of course not.

You get the gist of it... It'll only be as valuable to them as its valuable to you

[aldownie]

Thanks Vyse and everyone else. I'll buy the thing that makes my own heart skip, play it for the rest of my life, and my son can make of it what he wants.

He's 8yrs old just now, and last week we played our first gig together. He played drums on the iPad (on the kitchen table), I played guitar, and we both sang a song to Granny about how much we miss her when she goes away. I'd like to think that this is the sort of thing he'll remember when I'm gone and he picks up 'my' guitar, rather than the value of the instrument of course. But I do want it to be beautiful, too...

[MChild62]

Originally Posted by aldownie

I'll buy the thing that makes my own heart skip, play it for the rest of my life, and my son can make of it what he wants.

Words to live by, and made my own heart skip reading them. Thanks for sharing.